HOUSTON – (Aug. 5, 2013) – The State Department has extended embassy and consulate closures at 19 locations in Africa and the Middle East through Saturday. This is in the aftermath of intercepted “chatter” about terror threats, which lawmakers briefed on the information likened to intelligence picked up before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The State Department has extended embassy and consulate closures at 19 locations in Africa and the Middle East.

Andrew Bowen, the scholar for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is available to comment on the context of these closures and their near- and far-term implications.

Bowen’s research and writing primarily focuses on the regional and international politics of the Levant — in particular, Syria — but he frequently writes and comments on the international relations of the Persian Gulf as well as American national security policy. His work has been published in English, Arabic and Persian.

The Baker Institute has a radio and television studio available for media who want to schedule an interview with Bowen. For more information, contact Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

Founded in 1993, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston ranks among the top 20 university-affiliated think tanks globally and top 30 think tanks in the United States. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows and Rice University scholars. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.